Serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Monday, March 19, 2012

Heylo family¡ (I´m at a loss this week.. half the buttons aren´t working on the computer so upside down exclamations are the new cool thing¡¡¡¡

Wow what a week it has been¡ The first week of the transfer has been a great time to reflect and have the Lord help direct us in our work. I came away from the last transfer with a HUGE testimony of who is directing this work and was humbled even more to see the hand of the Lord touch our lives and prepare our paths. This week we worked hard to find a new set of investigators, to keep the work progressing and to be effective with our time. We have dropped a lot of our investigators because of lack of interest or because we can´t find them again. It is something that I am not a fan of doing, so much love and desire is had for these people as we understand more of their needs and just how perfectly the gospel of Jesus Christ will help them in their lives. Our purpose is to help (those that are prepared) to come unto Christ. I love in the Book of Mormon we are taught that we need to take care of the trees of His vineyard, some are ready and some need a little more time. But if we diligently work at it and if we come with the Spirit of the Lord, a seed of faith with be planted. So we opened our mouths a ton to try and find people and we came out with only one investigator.. Hmm. I was a little confused compared to what happened the last transfer.. but as we continued to work our eyes were opened to perhaps a better work that will help to complete our purpose. Without trying this week we found several Less active families that really have a desire to come to church, but don´t know where the first step is. What a blessing that this ¨rescuing¨ work is¡¡ I have come to love helping these families that started with a strong testimony make is back to the church.

We had a couple lessons this week that were really great¡ I think I´ve told you about Camila and Oscar. It is this young family that is really closed off and doesn´t like to talk to people, but LOVES us¡ We stopped by their house last Monday to help celebrate the cumpleaño of their little boy¡ It was a great time and were able to leave them with a very strong lesson of the importance of the family. We read from the Proclamación al mundo and the spirit was really strong as it testified of what the family can be. We invited them to be baptized and they said they just weren´t at that point yet... BOOO¡¡ But we´ll be working with them to help them act upon the commitments to help them have more faith in Christ.

Also we taught a family Solis that is a less active family. The first time we met them we were received incredible and invited them to begin to pray, (they went on vacaciónes for two weeks so not a lot was able to be done) but when we talked with them again they told us that they had acted upon the invitation and prayed several times, hand in hand as a matrimonio, and were blessed so much by that experience¡ LOVE when people act upon what the Lord has asked us to do. ¨I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say.¨ I know that that is the most real promise given to us. He will always comply with His end of the covenant. We have another cita with them this Thursday so I´ll let you know how they do¡

I had a really strengthening week this week as I studied about faith. Pte. Stapely shared Ether 12:27 with us and It was very powerful. I wanted to act upon that this week. I started by getting to know my Savior again, from the beginning. Understanding who He is and what It takes to have faith in Him and how we can in a pure way. I love the example of the Brother of Jared. He is a hero of mine. Ether 3: 26 really stood out to me:

¨For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.¨

How simple no? Believe that He is, believe that He can do all things for us and He will show us who we can be. I love my Savior. He became more real to me this week, I know that He loves us and that He passed through the worst of all- despite all those that rejected and mocked Him... Pretty close relation to missionary work huh?- because He new that it would give eternal life to those that would just believe. What an incredible blessing¡

I am grateful for you all and for the blessing that you are in my life. There isn´t much to describe what a family truly means, but I am grateful to be helping the people here to understand a little bit of how I feel.

Visitors

Contact Information

The following address may be used to mail letters or packages to Brayden:

brayden.jolley@myldsmail.net

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What I Believe

Missionary Links

Alma 26:35-36

35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all apower, ball wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a cmerciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

36 Now if this is aboasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a bbranch of the tree of Israel, and has been clost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, dwanderers in a strange land.